Writes of Spring: Stories and Prose

Edited by Gary Schulze and Pat Frovarp. Nodin (Adventure, dist.), $16.95 trade paper (238p) ISBN 978-1-935666-37-0

This inspired volume of original stories celebrates the 25th anniversary of mystery bookstore Once Upon a Crime and the 10th anniversary of the Minneapolis store’s annual Write of Spring author gathering. Outstanding selections from the 34 contributors, who offer a heavily regional diet of tales set in Minnesota or Wisconsin, include David Housewright’s “Obsessive Behavior” and William Kent Krueger’s “Luck.” In Libby Fischer Hellmann’s fine “Capital Partners,” two women find a way to deal with troubled marriages. Bruce Rubenstein revisits St. Paul’s storied era of détente between cops and criminals in “Johnny’s Johnson,” an amusing tale about one of John Dillinger’s visits. Bookending the collection are two previously unpublished Carl Wilcox stories by Harold Adams, whose last Wilcox novel, Lead, So I Can Follow, was published in 1999. Reed Farrel Coleman and Jon Jordan provide heartfelt tributes to store owners Schulze and Frovarp, winners of the 2011 MWA Raven Award, for their efforts on behalf of both authors and readers. (Apr.)

Reviewed on: 02/06/2012

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